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The UFC has found plenty of defenders over the years within the ranks of fighters who once fought for the promotion. Some, like Forrest Griffin get actual day-to-day jobs working for the promotion in one of their many business interests. Others, like Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, are part of a long string of athletes brought in to provide color commentary in the broadcast booth.
Even when it comes to things like fighter pay, there are no shortage of fighters happy to say that the UFC gave them all the money they earned and more.
“To be honest, it makes me mad, because people don’t understand,” Michael Bisping told MMA Fighting way back in 2012. “I’ve worked hard, and I get [the amount stipulated in the contract], but when Dana comes into the locker room and gives me a check afterwards, they don’t have to do that. Far from it. I was already very happy with the money I was getting, but then they’ll hand you another check on top of that and say, ‘Well done…good job,’ and there’ll be another huge check inside the envelope.”
No fighters ask to exit UFC class action lawsuit
Given the amount of support the UFC has as a leader in the industry, then, it may be somewhat surprising to learn that they’re not getting a lot of backup when it comes to the still looming UFC class action lawsuit.
First filed in 2014, but only just recently granted class certification, the lawsuit covers somewhere around 1,200 athletes that competed inside the Octagon between December 2010 and June 2017. In it, the UFC has been accused of a variety of anti-competitive practices aimed to keep fighter salaries low and rival promotions from gaining a foothold in the industry. If successful, the lawsuit could provide not just damages to those fighters who meet the class requirements, but could even potentially shake up the UFC’s current fighter contract structure.
Despite the vocal support the UFC may get in interviews and social media, it seems nobody is willing to take the opportunity to really show their solidarity and pass up the opportunity for an extra check. Combat Sports Law reports that lawyers working on behalf of the fighters produced the following filing this week, formally announcing that no eligible athletes chose to opt out of the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs submit this notice to confirm: (1) the Court’s approved plan for distributing notice to members of the certified Bout Class (the “Notice Plan”) has been effectuated as required by this Court’s November 17, 2023, Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion to Approve Class Notice Plan, ECF No. 921 (“Class Notice Order” or “Order”); and (2) no members of the Bout Class have requested exclusion from the certified Bout Class. The attached Declaration of Plaintiffs’ Notice Administrator, Steven Weisbrot, President and CEO of Angeion Group, LLC (“Angeion”),1 and accompanying exhibits detail the implementation of the Notice Plan and the absence of valid exclusions or objections from Bout Class members.
Put more simply, on November 17th, Angeion Group was tasked with notifying those athletes that meet the criteria of the UFC antitrust lawsuit, and with giving them the option to opt out should a decision be made in the plaintiff’s favor. According to Combat Sports Law’s reporting, the notifications included a letter sent to the athletes, an email notice, a media campaign, posted notices at 48 gyms, and a website and hotline dedicated to the lawsuit.
Despite no apparent interest from fighters in removing themselves from the proceedings, the UFC has apparently asked that the opt-out window be extended in response to the plaintiff filing above.
Chael Sonnen rips monopsony complaints, doesn’t opt out
Perhaps few fighters have been so willing to attack some of the arguments at play in the UFC class action lawsuit as former title contender Chael Sonnen. A talent with the UFC from 2009 to 2013, the 46-year-old is right square in the middle of the Bout Class classification. Recently, however, he’s made a point of public criticism of the idea that fighters are entitled to a bigger share of UFC revenue.
“Can you name 1 company on Earth that gives 50/50 revenue split?” Sonnen replied to a post from Combat Sports Law’s Erik Magraken, who noted that the antitrust lawsuit probably wouldn’t exist at all if the promotion weren’t withholding such a large share of their profit from their fighters.
“Price is set by the market,” Sonnen said, continuing the argument in a November 17th video posted to his YouTube—in which he responded to Magraken and the UFC antitrust case at length. “Nothing else sets price. Nothing. Not revenues, not debts, not assets, not longevity, not even talents. Those would all seemingly be good things to go in, when you’re negotiating, and trying to get market value, but they don’t directly set the value, the market does.”
“[Magraken] is coming in and saying the UFC is not paying enough, therefore it’s a monopoly and it’s unfair and there’s nothing fighters can do—when he’s confronted with the idea that they are paying market value. Chatri would not tell you any different, Scott Coker would not tell you any different, Donn Davis at the PFL, they won’t tell you any different. The UFC is paying market value. And they come to us and we can give the same thing, and we can trade them around. As long as the contract is up and we can all do our best to find the matchups that we think are the most compelling, that we can work with. That’s the business, very straight forward.”
Maybe if the UFC is granted the opt-out continuation that they seek, fighters like Sonnen will be lining up to jump ship and make it clear that they believe the UFC doesn’t owe them a dime. If that doesn’t happen, however, then it feels like the chance was given for fighters to stand up and say they don’t support this class action lawsuit, and everyone decided to stick with it and see where it goes.
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